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Ordo Xenos
The Ordo Xenos (Alien Hunters), together with the Ordo Malleus (Daemonhunters) and the Ordo Hereticus (Witch Hunters), makes up the powerful and secretive organization known as the Imperial Inquisition. As of yet, Alien Hunters are the only one of these three to not have an official army book, codex or permanent miniatures range, with the exception of the Deathwatch squads of Space Marines. Games Workshop has expressed its intent to release an Alien Hunters Codex in the near future. History The Ordo Xenos was created after the Emperor was interred in the Golden Throne, along with the rest of the Inquisitorial Orders (though some appeared far later than others), to investigate and study alien races and eliminate any alien threat to the Imperium that they identified. Armed with the best human and alien technology available, extremely knowledgeable about their foe, and filled with hatred for non-human species, the Ordo Xenos can respond to any alien threat. Their tactics vary depending on the situation and level of alien taint revealed. Where the threat is subtle, they will use guile and stealth, wielding their power as if it was a scalpel used to cut out a cancer. When the alien menace is great, the Inquisitor can enlist the aid of entire regiments of Imperial Guard and the special contingent of Space Marines drawn from every existing Chapter who are specifically attached to the Ordo Xenos and are known as the Deathwatch. Deathwatch stands ready to confront the xenos foes of Mankind]] When the alien threat is too great for even the requisitioned Imperial Guard troops of the Inquisition to handle, the Inquisitor will call on the elite Battle-Brothers of the Deathwatch, a squad made up of elite Space Marines from all of the Space Marine Chapters. All Deathwatch members wear black power armour except for one shoulder plate which bears the colors of their original Chapter (so as not to dishonor their power armor's Machine Spirit) and the other is emblazoned with the Icon of the Deathwatch. Certain Chapters make for great Xeno-hunters, like the Ultramarines (with their experience against Tyranids) or the Crimson Fists (with their experience against Orks). Ordo Xenos is well known for either being extremely ponderous or extremely quick to act. A major example of their slowness to act was when the Tau first made contact with Imperial planetary governors on the eastern fringe of the galaxy and these aliens' technology was allowed to penetrate all the way to Holy Terra. However, at times the Ordo Xenos can truly bring the hammer of the Emperor down on the foul alien, a prime example of which was seen during the Damocles Gulf Crusade in which an Ordo Xenos-headed Imperial Navy battle group penetrated deep into Tau space, although progression slowed to a halt when they reached Dal'yth, one of the core sept worlds of the Tau Empire. It is worth noting that, with the arrival of Hive Fleet Behemoth, the Damocles Crusade was forced to withdraw from their siege of Dal'yth to attend to other matters. The Deathwatch teams may specialize in defending or attacking any known alien race, including the Tau, Tyranids, Necrons, Orks or even Eldar; it depends upon the experience of the team. They normally operate in groups of 5, 10, or 20 depending on the size of the alien problem. In extreme circumstances, they will operate alongside other armies of the Imperium. When a Battle-Brother leaves the Deathwatch after his term of service to return to his original Chapter, he gains the honor of keeping his armored left arm plate with the symblol of the Deathwatch. In White Dwarf issue 259, rules were presented for fielding Deathwatch either as a separate HQ choice in any Imperium army, or as upgraded Space Marine Units in a Space Marine army. Notable Ordo Xenos Members *Inquisitor Agmar - As a young member of the Ordo Hereticus, Agmar led attacks upon Ichar IV's capital city of Lomas to break up rebellion among strange alien cult members. It turned out that the rebellion was created by a massive Genestealer infestation. With the Adeptus Arbites, he destroyed enough of the Genestealers' defenses to allow the Ultramarines to seize back the planet. It was then that Agmar's Astropaths felt the approach of Hive Fleet Kraken and it was his initiative that led to the breaking of Hive Fleet Kraken at Ichar IV. *Battle-Brother Artemis - Artemis was originally an Astartes of the Mortifactors Chapter of Space Marines. Artemis commanded Deathwatch Kill-teams against the xenos known as the K'nib in the Donorian Sector. This was done at the request of the Kaslon Imperial Guard Regiment. Artemis slew Alcayde and ended their attack upon Imperial space, even though the credit was given to the Kaslon regiment. He is quoted as saying: "Do not ask, 'Why kill the alien?' rather, ask, 'Why not?'" *Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn - An Amalathian member of the Ordo Xenos, Eisenhorn was the infamous Inquisitor who orchestrated the downfall of Quixos the Bright and Pontius Glaw using a stolen daemonhost named Cherubael, a former tool of Quixos. He seemingly vanished soon after the downfall of Pontius, having been declared a heretic by Inquisitor Osma of the Ordo Malleus and this bad reputation stayed with him despite attempts to clear his name by other Ordo Xenos members. *'Inquistor Lord Kryptmann' - Well-versed through hard experience in knowledge of the Tyranids and their infestation techniques, Inquisitor Kryptmann was responsible for first identifying the Genestealer infestation preceding Hive Fleet Leviathan. He later authorized the largest single act of genocide the Imperium has ever inflicted on itself by abandoning or destroying all worlds in Hive Fleet Leviathan's path. For his actions he was issued a Carta Extremis and was stripped of his title and position in the Inquisition. However, this did not stop him and he soon led his loyal Deathwatch Astartes to capture live Genestealers, place them in stasis, and use them to lure the Hive Fleet into the worlds controlled by the Orks of Octavius, slowing down the Hive Fleet's progress towards Terra while it sought to digest that massive Ork empire. *'Inquistor Reynaard' - Reynaard discovered a cult worshiping aliens on Mandall IV. Using a Deathwatch kill team, he attempted to destroy the cult, which proved to have taken over most of the capital city. After escaping, Reynaard returned with over 500,000 Imperial Guard troops and eradicated all in the city. *'Amberley Vail' - Acolyte of the Ordo Xenos. Featured in the Ciaphas Cain series, she acts as the editor of the Cain Archive. It has been suggested that her relationship with Cain is more than professional. *'Inquisitor Gideon Ravenor - 'Once a handsome and lean man, Ravenor was crippled on Thracian Primaris and is now litle more than crippled flesh living inside a heavily armoured casing tha acts as a grav chair. In his crippled form, however, his psychic abilities have strengthened, and with the help of Psi boosters attached to his grav chair, he has become a much more powerful psyker, in the high Delta, low Gamma range. He once served with Inquisitor Eisenhorn, however sinceEisenhorn's disappearance, Ravenor has taken charge of Eisenhorn's old retinue of Acolytes and Throne Agents to seek out and destroy all alien threats to the Imperium. Sources *Chambers, Andy; Haines, Pete and Kelly, Phil and McNeill,Graham and Reynolds,Anthony (2003). Index Astartes II, 1st Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. * Kelly, Phil; and Chambers, Andy (2004). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Tyranids (3rd Edition), Nottingham: Games Workshop. *Thorpe, Gav (2001). Inquisitor, 1th Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. *''Deathwatch Core Rulebook'' (RPG) *Spurrier, Simon (2006). Xenology. Nottingham: Black Library. Category:O Category:Imperial Ordo Category:Imperium Category:Inquisitors